1986 Canadian Grand Prix
15 June |number = 426 |officialname = XXV Grand Prix Labatt du Canada |circuit = Circuit Gilles Villeneuve |location = Montréal, Quebec, Canada |circuittype = Temporary street circuit |lapdistance = 4.410 |laps = 70 |distance = 308.700 |pole = Nigel Mansell |polenation = GBR |poleteam = |poletime = 1:24.118 |fastestlap = 1:25.443 |fastestlapdriver = Nelson Piquet |fastestlapnation = BRA-1968 |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 63 |winner = Nigel Mansell |winnernation = GBR |winnerteam = |second = Alain Prost |secondnation = FRA |secondteam = |third = Nelson Piquet |thirdnation = BRA-1968 |thirdteam = }} The XXV Grand Prix Labatt du Canada, otherwise known as the 1986 Canadian Grand Prix, was the sixth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the 15 June 1986.'Canadian GP, 1986', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr426.html, (Accessed 28/03/2019) The race would see Nigel Mansell sweep to victory from pole position, in a race that was to be dictated by fuel consumption. Indeed, Mansell was the man to beat in qualifying, setting a new circuit record as he beat Ayrton Senna to pole across the two sessions. The Brit's teammate Nelson Piquet was next ahead of Alain Prost, while René Arnoux and Keke Rosberg shared the third row. Race morning would be marred by a huge accident for Patrick Tambay, which saw the Frenchman sustain injuries to both his feet after a suspension failure. Tambay was hence unable to start, while his was taken away for analysis immediately after the race. Regardless, Mansell would take the lead at the start of the race, with Senna leading the chase from behind. Indeed, it seemed to be an unusually tame start to the race, with no major accidents or incidents to drastically affect the order. Mansell quickly established a lead at the head of the field, leaving Senna to defend from Prost, Piquet, Rosberg and Arnoux. The man to watch in this group proved to be Rosberg, who duly pushed his way past Piquet, before securing third after Prost barged past Senna at the hairpin. Indeed, Senna would drop to sixth after being forced to run wide at the hairpin, for Rosberg, Piquet and Arnoux were running nose-to-tail. Rosberg duly sent his scything past teammate Prost a couple of laps later, and come the end of lap seventeen the Finn had barged his way past Mansell. Yet, after a couple of laps in the lead Rosberg was told to ease his pace and conserve his fuel, allowing Mansell and Prost to close right onto his tail. On lap 22 the battle for victory was effectively settled, with Mansell sneaking ahead of Rosberg when the Finn got caught in two minds trying to lap Alan Jones. Prost would also make his way past the Finn after Mansell pulled clear, although the Frenchman would subsequently drop to fifth during the pitstops. Prost would spend the second half of the race fighting his way back up to second, while, at the head of the field, Mansell was able to cruise home to claim his fourth career victory. Behind the second placed Prost came Piquet, who passed Rosberg late on, with the Finn just making it to the line before he ran out of fuel. The remaining points would go to Senna and Arnoux who both lost a lap during the stops. The results of the race meant that Prost moved back to the top of the title hunt, establishing a two point lead over Mansell and Senna. In contrast, Williams-Honda would move to the top of the Constructors' Championship, holding a three point lead over McLaren-TAG Porsche. Background Ayrton Senna had moved to the top of the Championship as a result of the Belgian Grand Prix, moving two clear of former leader Alain Prost. A five point gap then followed before Nigel Mansell appeared in third, while Nelson Piquet had lost further ground in fourth. Keke Rosberg was next, the last man in double figures upon arrival in Canada, while Michele Alboreto was up in the top ten after scoring his first points of the campaign in Belgium. In the Constructors' Championship, meanwhile, it would be a tighter affair landing in Canada, with arriving just a point ahead of . Indeed, it seemed as if those two were equally matched in , although were also potential title contenders just nine off the lead after the first third of the season. , meanwhile, were a fairway back in fourth ahead of the , with the Italian squad having moved back ahead of in Spa. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Tambay would be unable to start the race after an accident during the warm-up. *† Surer's entry was withdrawn after the Swiss racer was injured prior to the race weekend. Grid ** Palmer and Danner would start the race from the pitlane. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Tambay was unable to start the race after an accident during the warm-up. Milestones * 25th Canadian Grand Prix to be staged.'1986 Canadian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1986&gp=Canadian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 28/03/2019) * Twentieth entry for a chassis and engine. * Huub Rothengatter entered his 20th Grand Prix. * Fourth career victory for Nigel Mansell.'6. Canada 1986', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1986/canada.aspx, (Accessed 28/03/2019) * claimed their 25th victory as a constructor. ** powered a car to a tenth win. ** Also the 25th win for Mobil as a lubricant supplier. * Nelson Piquet recorded the tenth fastest lap for a Honda engine. Standings Alain Prost moved back to the top of the Championship hunt after the Canadian Grand Prix, establishing a small two point advantage. Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna were next and level on 27 points, although the Brit was considered to be ahead by virtue of his two wins to the Brazilian's one. Nelson Piquet, meanwhile, would lose ground in fourth ahead of Keke Rosberg, with no further changes further down the field. In the Constructors' Championship it was now advantage , with their double podium putting them back ahead of . Those two would end the weekend some three points apart, before a significant sixteen point gap back to third placed . The Ethel based squad themselves seemed to be in a secure position, holding more than double the points of fourth placed , while held station in fifth. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1986 Grands Prix Category:Canadian Grand Prix